SCUBA Facts

SCUBA means Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus and Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses SCUBA to breathe underwater. See the fact file below for more information on SCUBA.

The term SCUBA is actually an acronym. It stands for, Self, Contained, Underwater, Breathing Apparatus. This is a term used to describe a system that allowed divers to go underwater without being connected to a surface air supply.

There was an unsuccessful attempt at a”rebreathing” device in the 1770’s when Sieur Freminet, a Frenchman, invented the first self-contained air device that recycled the exhaled air from inside a barrel. Unfortunately, the device worked poorly and Freminet died from lack of oxygen. He had been in his device for twenty minutes. Another death of an inventor trying to make a rebreather was that of Englishman, Henry Fleuss who invented a closed circuit oxygen rebreather in 1876. He used it in a 30 foot dive and died from the pure oxygen.

Scuba diving as we know it today really got started in the 1500’s when the first diving bell was invented.

The term SCUBA was originally used during WW II and referred to the Navy’s oxygen rebreathers used by frogmen. The rebreathers were used during underwater attacks and for under water demolition projects. The rebreather for the US Navy was developed by Dr. Christian Lambertsen in the 1940’s. The rebreather is closed-curcuit, which means no air is expelled outside of the system.

The open circuit breathing system in use today was invented by Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan. It allows divers to breathe from a tank of air on their back and exhale it into the water.

All dive computers tell 4 basic things; 1) current depth, 2)maximum depth during the dive 3) length of time underwater, 4) how much longer someone can stay safely underwater at any particular depth.

The maximum limit for recreational scuba divers is going to a 130 feet depth. Beginner divers are probably best advised to stay at 60 feet or above until they become more comfortable and gain more experience.